MAP: Where to find the Covid vaccine centre closest to you

The total number of vaccination centres stood at roughly 830 on Monday - more than the "at least 600" initially promised by the health minister.

France has ramped up its Covid-19 vaccination programme after a sluggish start, though its scheme has a strict priority order with those most vulnerable to developing the most severe forms of the virus going first.

Over-75s and high risk groups got access to the programme on January 18th, and 65-74-year-olds, who are next in line, will likely be included sometime in February.

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The government has created a website with an interactive map showing where the vaccination centres are situated.

The centres, shown in the map below, are spread across the country, although big cities and densely populated places have clusters of centres.

Photo: French government

The centres are coloured green or yellow depending on whether they are open to anyone (green) or restricted to a certain groups (yellow).

Some centres have restricted access to certain groups, for example those with pre-existing serious illnesses or health workers. What their restrictions are is specified when clicking on the centre in question.

The map has detailed information, including addresses, opening times and contact information to make an appointment.

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When dragging the arrow over the map, it will show an overview of the centre in question, including its name, address and whether access is restricted to certain groups or not.

You can find the interactive version of this map HERE.

When clicking on a centre the website automatically zooms in on the area in question, showing the street view and providing more details regarding opening hours and how to contact them.

Contrary to pop-in centres for Covid-19 testing, all of France's vaccination centres at the moment require an appointment in advance, to respect the strict priority list outlined above.

To facilitate the process of booking, the government has launched a website and a phone number, and partnered with the the widely used medical app Doctolib and a couple of other similar platforms. 

At present it seems that the apps haven't connected with all vaccination centres - this is an ongoing process - so if you're on an app and it looks like there are no centres near you, you can either wait a couple of days and try again, or use the map above. 

Regional health authorities provide assistance to those who live far from a vaccination centre, and the government has asked anyone experiencing difficulties with travelling to a centre to get in touch with the ARS (Agence régionale de santé) in their area.